MASSENA—New York Power Authority (NYPA) President
and Chief Executive Officer Roger B. Kelley said Thursday night that
the recent agreement in principle between NYPA and Alcoa on the
terms of a new power-supply contract means “we’re on our way to
ensuring that Alcoa remains the backbone of this region’s economy
and the foundation for its future growth.”

“This is a balanced agreement that promises
benefits to Alcoa, to the Authority and, most important, to Massena
and the North Country,” Kelley said at the Greater Massena Chamber
of Commerce’s 76th annual dinner at the Quality Inn.

He spoke on a night when the Chamber commemorated
this year’s 50th anniversary of the start of operations at the St.
Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, NYPA’s first
generating facility, on July 17, 1958.

“To be recognized by our North Country neighbors,
in the place where the Power Authority got its start, is the finest
tribute we could receive,” said Kelley, who noted NYPA’s “deep
commitment to Massena and the North Country.”

He said the agreement in principle with Alcoa,
reached last December, has special meaning to the Power Authority
because “not only was St. Lawrence our first power plant, but Alcoa
was our first customer.”

Under the proposed terms of a new contract, which
would take effect in 2013 and extend for at least 30 years, the
company would maintain a minimum of 900 local jobs, carry out a $600
million overhaul of its Massena East smelter and create a $10
million North Country Economic Development Fund. The contract,
calling for Alcoa to continue to receive 478 megawatts (mw) of St.
Lawrence-FDR power, remains to be negotiated and will be subject to
an approval process set out in state law.

Kelley said a prime objective for NYPA in
negotiations leading to the agreement in principle was “to make sure
that the low-cost hydropower’s immense potential as a means to
create jobs and investment was fulfilled.” He praised the role of
Gov. Eliot Spitzer and members of his staff, Alcoa and local
officials and community leaders in helping to conclude the
agreement.

He said NYPA will work with the Spitzer
administration and local economic development officials to ensure
that the 12 mw of St. Lawrence-FDR power now allocated to GM
Powertrain in Massena “is used to maximum advantage” after that
plant’s scheduled shutdown this year. The power is part of a block
of Preservation Power reserved for North Country businesses under a
2005 state law.

Citing progress in another economic development
program, Kelley said more than 430 jobs are linked to the Greater
Massena Economic Development Fund, established by NYPA in the late
1980s and now worth more than $2.5 million. He also noted that the
Seaway Private Equity Corp., created with the promise of $10 million
in NYPA funds, has invested in two companies—ZeroPoint Clean Tech in
Potsdam and Curran Renewable Energy in Massena—and that two other
investments have been approved.

Kelley said the Power Authority’s $281 million Life
Extension and Modernization program at the St. Lawrence-FDR project,
scheduled for completion in 2013, has passed the halfway mark and
that the region continues to receive numerous benefits from NYPA
under commitments related to issuance of the project’s new 50-year
federal license in 2003. These range from annual payments to
communities and school districts in the project area to the transfer
of almost 600 acres of surplus project land to municipalities and
adjacent property owners, improvements to state and local parks and
varied environmental initiatives.

“The relicensing, like so much else that we’ve
accomplished here, was a testament to the dedication of local
officials and concerned citizens, and to their willingness to
balance competing interests and priorities,” Kelley said.

Comparing the task of building the power project to
those now facing the community, Kelley said, “Tonight, in this
50th-anniversary year, our challenge is not to construct a massive
power project, but to build a strong and thriving North Country
economy.

“It is not to tame a mighty river, but to harness
the churning forces of a global economy. It is not to make a
temporary home for an army of construction workers, but to create a
permanent home for our children and grandchildren—one with the jobs
and the quality of life that will enable them to stay and raise
their own families here in Northern New York.”

He said NYPA “stands ready to join with you in
achieving these vital goals, now and far into the future.”

About NYPA:

■ NYPA uses no tax money or
state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of
bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of
electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting
energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric
transportation initiatives. ■ It is the
nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating
facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400
circuit-miles of transmission lines.